By Cora Leighter
Special to RBR+TVBR
ATSC 3.0 datacasting brings the one-to-many delivery of broadcasting to the one-to-one world of wireless connectivity, just as the Internet of Things gathers steam. This means steady, low-maintenance dividend-like revenue streams for broadcasters, and capital expenditure relief for wireless carriers.
“ATSC 3.0 turns broadcast spectrum into a data pipe, where linear video is only one part of the data,” said Michael Bouchard, VP of Technology Strategy for ONE Media 3.0, as he opened the fourth in a six-episode webinar series on making money with ATSC 3.0.
Bouchard and his fellow panelists described what makes the technology unique, timely and complimentary to 5G wireless and GPS, as well as immediately useful in the time of COVID-19.
WHAT’S DIFFERENT, WHY NOW?
ATSC 3.0 is sometimes identified synonymously with “NextGen TV,” but the latter is merely part of the payload.
ATSC 3.0 is an IP-native data pipe that functions in broadcast TV frequencies. That alone makes it unique. It further allows for “convergence” with other wireless networks formed around a “core” network that can eventually be managed by AI in a cloud environment.
Peter Guglielmino, chief technology officer at IBM Media and Entertainment, works on the team coordinating this core network. “It’s really about convergence and how these things go together,” he said. “We’re focused on… understanding how we can help monetize that bandwidth by coordinating adjacent industries like automotive, manufacturing, education and local and state governments.”
These sectors are increasingly launching smart technologies for managing traffic, the power grid, water supplies and other resources. The characteristics of ATSC 3.0 make it ideal for these applications. The TV spectrum it occupies can penetrate concrete-and-steel manufacturing facilities more reliably than other wireless frequencies. It’s also a secure, largely dedicated network with limited touchpoints to the internet.
“There’s no cellular architecture that can reach as many customers simultaneously or as efficiently,” said Sasha Javid, chief operating officer of BitPath, a joint effort of Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group to launch a nationwide data network linking TV stations across the country.
COMPLIMENTARY TO 5G AND GPS
Cellular networks don’t have efficient, simultaneous reach because they’re unicast in nature—one signal dedicated to one device—whereas one ATSC 3.0 signal reaches all connected devices within a given market.
“5G married to ATSC 3.0 provides the one-to-many last-mile capability that 5G alone does not have,” noted Kevin Gage, chief operating officer of Cast.era, a joint venture between Sinclair and SK Telecom, the wireless carrier in South Korea, where state-owned broadcasters launched ATSC 3.0 three years ago. People are “seeing the value of a broadcast data network that provides this umbrella of data and hits all these devices simultaneously.”
This last-mile data umbrella is precisely what 5G providers need to offset the increasing cost and density of content delivery. IBM’s Guglielmino noted that one hour of HD video costs telcos around 60 cents in electricity.
“If I’m a telco, I’m delivering point-to-point streams, so for 100,000 streams, [I’m] paying 100,000 times 60 cents,” he said. “And many times, it’s over-the-top video. They’re not monetizing it, they’re just subsidizing it. There’s no way they’re going to make money delivering live video streams…. it’s going to be a lot less expensive for me to partner with a broadcaster to do it and be their backchannel. There’s a lot of synergy there, and both make money,” plus telcos avoid the expense of adding cell towers.
Another inherent quality of ATSC 3.0 datacasting that makes it attractive to wireless carriers is that it makes location resolution from three to five meters down to mere centimeters possible.
“That’s important, especially when you’re talking about self-driving cars,” said Gage, who participated in a test drive using 3.0/5G location services—for real-time mobile delivery of video and data—last August in South Korea. The event, he said, got more press coverage than a coinciding Apple event.
DATACASTING DURING COVID-19
Datacasting isn’t new to broadcasting, it’s just limited by the current technology, said Mark O’Brien, president and chief technology officer at SpectraRep, a broadcast datacaster focused on public safety providers. That is, they were until COVID-19 closed schools and broadcasters started providing remote learning.
“We have a datacasting service that’s like the internet, meaning web pages with links that teachers send to their students, that show up as if they’re on the internet, it really is making a difference,” he said. “We want everyone to have broadband, but the reality is, they don’t. The reality is, there’s a crisis, and datacasting and the public television stations I work with are making a huge impact.”
Distributed by The Josh Gordon Group.
